SIR - I must confess I am not a fan of US TV, but I was heartened when I tuned in to the coverage of the campaign for the Republican nomination and witnessed candidate Ron Paul breaking the Republican Party fundraising record with more than $6 million raised in just 24 hours.

This is all the more fantastic when you consider he is virtually ignored by the mainstream media and not backed by big business. His support is totally grassroots.

He is saying what people think! It makes me proud to be a libertarian.

It also tells you two other things: 1) The old corrupt parties ignore the will of the people at their peril. Eventually they will wake up and this is clearly happening in the US.

2) Don't judge a man by his party. Mr Paul is a member of the same party as George Bush but they are clearly worlds apart on policy, intellect and debating ability.

It is now also time for the people of the UK to wake up as we are moving ever closer to what people are calling the post-democratic era, that being our assimilation into the EU.

Jason Smith, UK Independence Party Bradford Chairman, Woodlands Avenue, Queensbury